Thursday, September 22, 2005

The Memphis Jug Band recorded Cocaine Habit Blues with Hattie Hart on lead vocals in 1930. That was towards the end of a cocaine craze and you can hear Hart mention that cocaine is going out of style:

Cocaine habit mighty badIt's the worst old habit that I ever hadHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

I went to Mr Beaman's in a lopeSaw a sign on the window said no more dopeHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

If you don't believe cocaine is goodAsk Alma Rose at MinglewoodHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

I love my whiskey and I love my ginBut the way I love my coke is a doggone sinHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

Since cocaine went out of styleYou can catch them shooting needles all the whileHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

It takes a little coke to give me easeStrut your stuff long as you pleaseHey, hey, honey take a whiff on me

The drug was made illegal in the US in 1914 by the Harrison Narcotics Act. So by 1930 it was recognized as a dangerous drug and was no longer commonly used like it was in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when it was legal. But coke was still around frequently enough to have quite a few songs written about it in the late 20s and early 30s. So I wanted to play a few of those records.Let’s get away from Beale Street in Memphis and head to my home state of Virginia. Luke Jordan was from Lynchburg, Virginia, which is Jerry Falwell country now, but it was a different story back in 1927. Here’s Luke Jordan with Cocaine Blues:

Oh come on gal, don't you take me for no foolI'm not going to quit you pretty mama while the weather's coolAround your back door says honey I'm going to creepAs long as you make your two and a half a week

Now I got a girl, she works in the white folk's yardShe brings me meal, I can swear she brings some lardShe brings me meat, she brings me lardShe brings everything I swear that she can steal

Now Barnum Bailey Circus came to townThey had a dancer looking good and brownThey didn't know it was against the lawBut the monkey stopped at a Fine drugstore

Stepped around the corner just a minute too lateAnother one sitting there at the big back gateI’m simply wild about my good cocaine

I called my Cora, hey heyShe come on sniffing with her nose all soreThe doctor's gone going to sell no moreSay run doctor, ring the bellThe women in the alleyI’m simply wild about my good cocaine

Now the furniture man came to my house it was last Sunday mornHe asked me was my wife at home and I told she has long been goneHe backed his wagon up to my door, took everything I hadHe carried it back to the furniture store and I swear I did feel sad

What in the world has anyone got dealing with the furniture man?If you've got no dough, to stand up for sure, he certainly will drag you backHe will take everything from an earthly plant, from the skillet to a frying panIf there ever was a devil born without any horns, it must have been the furniture man.

I called my Cora, hey heyShe come on sniffing with her nose all soreDoctor swore gonna smell no moreSaying coke's for horses not women or menThe doctors say it'll kill you, but they didn't say whenI’m simply wild about my good cocaine

Now the baby's in the cradle in New Orleans, it kept a-whipping till it got so meanIt kept a-whipping had to fix it soThe joke with laughter, fell on more(??)Saying, run doctor, ring the bell, the women in the alleyI'm simply wild about my good cocaine

I called my Cora, hey heyShe come on sniffing with her nose all soreThe doctor swore she's gonna smell no moreSaying, run doctor, ring the bell, the women in the alleyI'm simply wild about my good cocaine

That’s Luke Jordan – simply wild about his good cocaine. Jordan recorded only 12 sides but he was very influential around Virginia and the East Coast. One fan of his was a West Virginia coal mine worker by the name of Dick Justice. In 1929, Justice recorded his own version of Cocaine Blues. He might have seen Jordan play, but its clear from listening that Justice learned the song from Jordan’s record. It’s interesting to hear a white man sing the song and keep lyrics like “I’ve got a girl that works in the white folks yard. She brings me meal I swear she brings me lard. She brings everything that a girl can steal.” Charley Patton was the biggest blues musician in the Mississippi Delta in the 1920s. He recorded his take on cocaine addiction in 1929 with A Spoonful Blues. Listen to how Patton uses the slide guitar to finish his vocal lines. After the first line of the song, Patton never says the word spoonful with his voice. He lets his guitar do the talking. Charley Patton is a little less positive about cocaine than some of the other singers. He really gets at the intensity of addiction in that song. He sings “All I want in this creation is a spoonful. Would you kill a man? Yes, I will kill just about a spoonful.”

(spoken: I'm about to go to jail about this spoonful)In all a-spoon, about that spoonfulThe women going crazy, every day in their life about a...

It's all I want, in this creation is a...I go home (spoken: wanna fight!) about a...Doctor's dying (way in Hot Springs)About a...These women going crazy every day in their life about a...

Would you kill a man dead? (spoken: yes, I will!) just about a...Oh babe, I'm a fool about my...

(spoken: Don't take me long!) to get my...Hey baby, you know I need my...It's mens on Parchman (done lifetime) just about a...

Hey baby, (spoken: you know I ain't long) about my...It's all I want (spoken: honey, in this creation) is a...I go to bed, get up and wanna fight about a...

(spoken: Look-y here, baby, would you slap me? Yes I will!) just about a...Hey baby,(spoken: you know I'm a fool about my...Would you kill a man?(spoken: Yes I would, you know I'd kill him)just about a...Most every man (spoken: that you see is)fool about his...

That transcription is based on the one in the Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues - The Worlds of Charley Patton box set by Dick Spottswood.Charley Jordan recorded his version of the song for the Vocalion record label in 1930 with the title, Just a Spoonful

All I crave, this creation is a spoonfulBig fat mules, little plantation and a spoonfulI want some, just a spoonfulJust a spoonful, just a spoonful

I smacked the judge and I go to jail for a spoonfulI go to jail, I don’t want no bail for a spoonfulMy baby says I couldn’t get that spoonfulI said “Look here gal, don’t you fool with me about my spoonful”

I walk the street all night long looking for my spoonfulSpoonful, for my spoonfulI said “Look here gal, don’t you fool with me about my spoonful”

It’s a spoonful, just a spoonfulMy baby cried all night long for a spoonfulShe thought that she wasn’t gonna get that little old spoonful

Police caught me, he knocked me down for a spoonfulI caught the train, I left the town for a spoonful

These songs marked the end of the cocaine era of the first few decades of the last century as other drugs grew in popularity, cocaine faded away not to be the popular drug until a reemergence in the 60s and full blown popularity in the seventies and eighties when we got songs like White Lines and the Eric Clapton/John Cale piece, Cocaine. If you ask me, the Memphis Jug Band, Luke Jordan, Charley Patton and the others did a better job with the coke songs back in the late 20s and early 30s.

6 comments:

Hey Mike.I really enjoy your show and find myself listening to them over and over again to hear the songs (and maybe remember some of the commentary better). Your dialog on the songs is what's really missing from most forms of brodcast.Your cocaine blues show (cocaine's a hell of a drug!) is definitely my favorite, followed by the canned heat and jake one. I guess because there's nothing more blues-worthy than songs about hopeless addiction to horrible drugs that'll get you sent to jail and worse. Always makes me feel better about my problems ;)Anyway please keep it up!

Really interesting blog! I never knew what 'bonus' a few of these bluesmen were referring to in their lyrics but always wondered. So, thanks very much for that info! Sadly, the GREAT BLUESMEN/WOMEN from the late 20's to late 40's, had no idea what a huge foundation they were laying down for future years to come in every genre of music. People who have never heard their original music will never know either.

Any idea what the line "run, doctor, ring the bell... women in the alley" refers to? This has puzzled me for years, especially the bit about ringing the bell. Please share any insights you may have. Thanks.

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